Call forwarding to voice mail systems based on redirecting number

ABSTRACT

A method and system to route calls to a voicemail system is disclosed. The method includes receiving a call from an originating device at a first redirecting device and forwarding the call from the first redirecting device to a second redirecting device. The forwarded call has an associated data message that includes a calling number of the originating device and the first redirecting number of the first redirecting device. The method also includes forwarding the call from the second redirecting device to a destination voice mailbox. The destination voice mailbox is selected based on an evaluation of the first redirecting number and the second redirecting number.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to call forwarding based on redirectingnumbers and to voice mail systems.

BACKGROUND

Call forwarding has been used to route calls from an unused telephonedevice to a different phone where the user expects to be available.Voice mail systems are used to handle calls where the user is busy or isunable to answer. Call forwarding systems can route calls from manydifferent devices to a single device that is directed to a voice mailsystem. While such systems are useful, users may have multiple voicemail accounts and may desire increased call forwarding and voicemailcall retrieval options.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system and method relatingto handling forwarded calls and voice mail systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general diagram that illustrates call forwarding to adestination voicemail system.

FIG. 2 is a general diagram that illustrates a system for handling callforwarding using a redirecting number to a voice mail system.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates routing forwarded calls using aredirecting number.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart that illustrates a method of handling intelligentnetwork messages for forwarding calls using a redirecting number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is generally directed to a method and system toroute calls to a voicemail system. In a particular embodiment, themethod includes receiving a call from an originating device at a firstredirecting device and forwarding the call from the first redirectingdevice to a second redirecting device. The forwarded call has anassociated data message that includes a calling number of theoriginating device and the first redirecting number of the firstredirecting device. The method also includes forwarding the call fromthe second redirecting device to a destination voice mailbox. Thedestination voice mailbox is selected based on an evaluation of thefirst redirecting number and the second redirecting number.

Referring to FIG. 1, a general diagram that illustrates various callpaths from a caller 102 to a final destination voicemail system 130 isillustrated. A first call path 104 from a caller 102 is a direct callpath to a destination telephone device 114 that forwards calls from thetelephone 114, under busy/don't answer condition, to a voicemail system130 via a forwarding call path 124. In another call scenario, the callis directed from caller 102 via a wireless path 106 to a wireless device112 and then forwarded along path 120 to the destination telephone 114before being forwarded over path 124 to the voicemail system 130. Inanother scenario, a call is placed from caller 102 over a call path 108to work telephone device 110 and then forwarded over call path 122 tothe destination telephone 114. The call at that point may then beforwarded over path 124 to the voicemail system 130. In each of the callscenarios, a different voicemail system account within the voicemailsystem 130 may be utilized. For example, a first default voicemailaccount may be for calls placed directly along path 104, the secondaccount may be for wireless call forwarded numbers, and a thirdvoicemail account may be used for calls forwarded from the worksubscriber unit 110.

Referring to FIG. 2, an illustrative system for implementing callforwarding to various voicemail box addresses is illustrated. The systemincludes a first representative telephone device 202, a second telephonedevice 204, a subscriber telephone device 206, and the destinationvoicemail system 130. The system also includes a first service switchingpoint (SSP) 210, a second SSP 212, a third SSP 214, and a fourth SSP216. The first SSP 210 is associated with the first telephone 202, thesecond SSP 212 is associated with the forwarding phone 204, and a thirdSSP 214 is associated with the destination subscriber phone 206. Thefourth SSP 216 is coupled to and associated with the voicemail system130. The first SSP 210 is coupled to the second SSP 212 via anintermediate signaling system seven (SS7) link 230. Similarly, thesecond SSP 212 is coupled to SSP 214 via SS7 link 232 and SSP 214 iscoupled to SSP 216 via SS7 link 234. During operation, a call isforwarded from caller 102 through the caller's phone 202 along firstcall path 240 to the intermediate forwarding device 204 and then via acall forwarded path 242 to the subscriber device 206. The call is thenforwarded from the subscriber device 206 and based on the scenario, suchas call forward, busy or where there is no answer in a certain number ofrings, the call is sent over call forwarding path 244 to the voicemailsystem 130.

While the call is being placed from the caller 102 through the varioustelephone devices to the voicemail system 130, data messaging occursamong the associated SSPs. For example, the first SSP 210 sends a datamessage over SS7 link 230 to the SSP 212. A data message 250 includes acalling number and the called number. Along the call forwarding path,the second SSP 212 sends a call forwarding message 252 over SS7 link 232to the third SSP 214. The call forwarding message 252 includes aredirecting number as well as the calling number and the called number.The redirecting number is the number of the intermediate call forwardingdevice, such as the illustrated work phone 204. The third SSP 214 thatis associated with the end subscriber device 206 is coupled to a switchcontrol point (SCP) 220 via an intermediate switch transfer point (STP)218. The switching control point 220 includes logic to respond totrigger requests from SSP elements. For example, the SSP 214 may send atrigger request via STP 218 to the SCP 220. In response to the request,the SCP 220 performs logic operations and determines an instructionmessage which is then passed back to the SSP 214 for further action.

In response to the instructions from the SCP 220, the SSP 214 sends acall forwarding voicemail data message 254 to the SSP 216. The callforwarding voicemail message 254 includes a first redirecting number anda second redirecting number as well as the calling number and the callednumber. The second redirecting number is the telephone address for theend subscriber device 206 in the particular embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2. The SSP 216, in response to the instruction forwarded from theSCP 220 and in response to the first and second redirecting numbers,then provides an instruction to the voicemail system 130 so that theforwarded call placed along call forwarding path 244 is routed to theappropriate voicemail box. For example, in the particular embodimentshown in FIG. 2, since the call was forwarded via the work phone 204,the call would be forwarded to a special voicemail account that plays anannouncement intended for callers to the subscriber's work phone 204. Aspecial voicemail box is used instead of the default home mailbox usedfor direct calls to the subscriber.

With different voicemail boxes used for different call flows, asubscriber may create different announcements and may monitor and trackvarious voicemail messages in a logical organized fashion. For example,a subscriber may retrieve work directed messages separately from thehome messages. Similarly, a subscriber may define a special voicemailaccount for calls forwarded from the subscriber's mobile device.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method of routing a call to a voicemail box basedon redirecting number is illustrated. A call is received from theoriginating device at a first redirecting device, at 302. The call isthen forwarded from the first redirecting device to a second redirectingdevice, at 304. The forwarded call has an associated data message thatincludes a calling number of the originating device and a firstredirecting number of the first redirecting device. For example, thefirst redirecting number may be a telephone number associated with awork phone or with a mobile phone. The call is then forwarded from thesecond redirecting device to a destination voicemail system, at 306. Theparticular destination voicemail box is selected based on an evaluationof both the first redirecting number and the second redirecting number.For example, the first redirecting number may be the work phone numberand the second redirecting number may be the subscriber destinationnumber. The voicemail system may forward the call to a designated workphone voicemail box based on the evaluation of the first redirectingnumber. Optionally, the redirecting number is compared to an authorizedlist of available redirecting numbers. If the redirecting number is notauthorized, the default voicemail box is used.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of processing an intelligent networkcommunication message is illustrated. A query message is received at aswitch control point, at 402. It is determined whether the inbound calldata includes a redirecting number, at 404. A response message isformulated to the query message to indicate an address for thedestination voicemail account, at 406. The address may be generated byreplacing the default voicemail number with the first redirectingnumber. The address is determined based upon the redirecting number. Theresponse message is then sent to a service switching point, at 408 and acall is routed to the destination voicemail account based upon theaddress, at 410. Thus, a particular illustrative embodiment of a systemand method for forwarding to a voicemail system has been disclosed.While an intelligent network example implementation was provided, itshould be understood that the method and system disclosed may beimplemented in many alternative systems, such as using a voice overinternet protocol system.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method of routing a call to a voice mailbox based on a redirectingnumber, the method comprising: receiving a call from an originatingdevice at a first redirecting device; forwarding the call from the firstredirecting device to a second redirecting device, the forwarded callhaving an associated data message that includes a calling number of theoriginating device, and a first redirecting number of the firstredirecting device; forwarding the call from the second redirectingdevice to a destination voice mailbox, the destination voice mailboxselected based on an evaluation of the first redirecting number and thesecond redirecting number.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thedestination voice mailbox is provided by a voicemail system.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and the secondredirecting numbers is compared to a set of predetermined authorizedredirecting numbers and wherein the voice mailbox is selected from agroup of available voice mailboxes based upon at least one of the firstand the second redirecting numbers.
 4. A method of processing anintelligent network communication, the method comprising: receiving aquery message at a switch control point; determining that inbound calldata includes a redirecting number; formulating a response message tothe query message, the response message to indicate an address for adestination voicemail account, the address determined based upon theredirecting number; sending the response message to a service switchingpoint; routing a call to the destination voicemail account based uponthe address.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising comparing theredirecting number to a plurality of authorized redirecting numbers. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the response message indicates forwardingthe call to the destination voicemail account only when the redirectingnumber is found within the plurality of authorized redirecting numbers.7. An intelligent network system comprising: a switching control point;a service switching point coupled to the switching control point;wherein the service switching point sends a request message to theswitching control point, the request message including a subscribertelephone number and a redirecting number; and wherein the switchingcontrol point sends a response message to the service switching point,the response message including a field to identify a number associatedwith a voicemail account.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the serviceswitching point is coupled to a second service switching point that iscoupled to a destination voicemail system.
 9. The system of claim 7,wherein the service switching point receives a data message associatedwith a call prior to sending the request message to the switchingcontrol point.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the service switchingpoint is coupled to a signaling system 7 type of communication link. 11.The system of claim 9, wherein the redirecting number is not found on anauthorized list of redirecting numbers and wherein the call is routed toa default home voicemail system.
 12. The system of claim 7, wherein thesecond service switching point receives a message that includes acalling number, a called number, a first redirecting number, and asecond redirecting number.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein thesecond service switching point includes a memory that stores datarelated to a plurality of different voicemail accounts.
 14. The systemof claim 7, wherein the switching control point includes a memory, thememory including a first redirecting number entry associated with afirst voice mailbox and a second redirecting number entry associatedwith a second voice mailbox.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein thefirst redirecting number is associated with a work phone and wherein thefirst voice mailbox is a designated work voicemail account.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the second redirecting number is associatedwith a mobile communication device and wherein the second voice mailboxis a designated mobile communication device voicemail account.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein a first greeting is presented upon access tothe first voice mailbox and a second greeting is presented upon accessto the second voice mailbox.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thememory further includes a default voicemail account associated with ahome phone.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the switching controlpoint replaces an address of the default voicemail account with anaddress of at least one of the first voice mailbox and the second voicemailbox.